The Seattle Kraken came back from their five-game road trip and found themselves in a strange kind of game: one they seemed to have completely under control, then almost let slip away.
Against a Red Wings team they had already beaten 6-3 in Detroit on October 6, the Kraken dictated the pace for much of the night. Seattle owned the territorial battle through the first two periods and looked every bit like the sharper, cleaner side. The scoring started early when Mackie Samoskevich, after swapping places with Jordan Eberle on the Chandler Stephenson/Bobby McMann, found the net and got Seattle rolling.
Ryker Evans added his second goal of the season after Detroit left him alone in front, one of several defensive breakdowns that kept opening the door for Seattle. Evans had all the time he needed, and the Red Wings’ resistance was already looking flimsy.
Then Brandon Montour made his return after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury and made it count. Berkly Catton won the faceoff, Montour jumped on the chance, and he scored his first goal of the season.
At the end of two periods, Seattle was ahead 3-0. The expected goal battle was 78% to 12% in the Kraken’s favor, which looked like the kind of gap that usually turns a hockey game into a formality.
It didn’t.
Detroit finally woke up in the third period, started generating chances, and got on the board in transition when Viktor Arvidsson scored. The mood shifted fast, and Seattle helped speed the change along when Ryker Evans took a penalty and Lucas Raymond made a slick move in front to bring the Red Wings within one.
“Well, we have a hockey game. Lucas Raymond scores on the power play with a little dipsy-doodle move in front and the Red Wings, who looked completely dead through two periods, have made this a one-goal game.
Hold on to your butts. #SeaKraken”
Then, with Detroit on the power play again and the net empty, the Red Wings tied it with just 16.3 seconds left. Seattle had only four shots on goal in the third period, and Detroit made them pay for sitting back. From there, overtime came and went scoreless, leaving the game to be decided in the shootout.
The Kraken got the finish they needed there, with goals from Freddy Gaudreau and Bobby McMann sealing the win. Seattle still earned two points, even if the route there was far messier than it looked after 40 minutes.
The Kraken stay home next and face the Utah Mammoth on Thursday.
In Other News...
Kraken Escape A Brutal Home Letdown With One Timely Boost
Brandon Montours return gave Seattle a much-needed lift after a lengthy absence, and the defenseman made an immediate impact in his first game back from a lower-body injury. He scored for the Kraken in regulation as Seattle built a 3-0 cushion against Detroit, joining goals from Mackie Samoskevich and Ryker Evans in what looked like a comfortable home night for a team trying to steady itself.
Instead, the game turned into a stress test in the final stretch, with Detroit storming back to force overtime after scoring three times in the third period. The Kraken avoided a costly collapse only by surviving the shootout, where Freddy Gaudreau and Bobby McMann delivered the winning markers and gave Seattle a result that felt a lot safer on the scoreboard than it did for most of the night. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Roster Pressure Is Growing As Two Problems Demand Answers
The Kings are looking at a roster squeeze from two obvious directions, and both point to the same bigger question: how quickly can they find help without creating another problem somewhere else? Los Angeles has been dealing with uneven goaltending and a sputtering offense, which has pushed the conversation toward outside options and possible internal reinforcements as the season wears on.
Among the names floating around, free agent Patrik Laine and a possible return of Kevin Fiala stand out as the kind of swing plays that could change the look of the lineup. But any move of that size has ripple effects, and for a team already trying to stabilize two major areas at once, the pressure is only going to build as other clubs around the league start sorting out their own trade and roster priorities. [Read more 🡒]